LAMMAS DAY

Lammas Day: translation

The old name given to the first day of August because on that day in Anglo-Saxon times it was the custom to bring into the Church offerings in kind, loaves, representing the first-fruits, of the harvest. The word "Lammas" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon wordhlafmaesse,hlafmeaning a loaf, andmaessemeaning "mass." As the first of August in old Calendars was the Feast of St. Peter-in-chains, it is also supposed thatLammasis an abbreviation ofVincula Mass, or the Feast of St. Peterad vinculain commemoration of his deliverance from chains.